D&AD has worked with cultural insight agency Neighbourhood to commission and edit reports exploring themes throughout the winning and shortlisted work, presented here in the digital Annual. These reports examine the context of this year’s work and draw out learnings from the creative approaches employed. They can be enjoyed as a tour through the work that exemplifies creative excellence, according to the esteemed industry judges, and they can also serve as thought-starters to inspire your own creative thinking.

Over 1,000 pieces of Pencil-winning and shortlisted professional work were analysed to identify recurrent themes, creative philosophies and approaches, with eight themes identified for exploration in dedicated reports. Neighbourhood explores shifting consumer mindsets and behaviours by immersing themselves with people and cultures around the world in order to provide brands with the nuanced insight required to inform resonant strategy. Applying a culturally conscious eye to this year’s work, the agency sought to connect creative methods with contemporary culture.